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Article: Sleight of herb: black cohosh mislabeled in medicinal products.(This Week)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 13, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A sizable fraction of the herbal supplements marketed as preparations of black cohosh contain none of that North American plant, researchers report. Some past studies suggested that black cohosh lessens menopausal symptoms, but 3 of 11 recently tested products instead contained related Asian species not known to have this effect.
Hundreds of thousands of women use black cohosh to combat hot flashes, estimates chemist Steven Dentali of the American Herbal Products Association, a trade group. A harvest of nearly 160 tons of the plant, mostly from the Appalachian wilderness, was reported in 2003. Root extracts go into capsules and tablets.
In the United ...